Australian police say sewing needles have been found hidden in an apple and a banana, amid a nationwide scare that has tormented the strawberry industry. In the most serious case, a man was taken to hospital last week after eating a strawberry that contained a needle. Several strawberry brands have been withdrawn, while New Zealand's biggest grocers have stopped selling Australian strawberries as a precaution. Strawberry prices have already dropped around the country, with prices in Western Australia now below the cost of production, local media reported. "There's a handful of cases in 100 million punnets but it's really brought our industry to its knees," Mr Scurr, from Piñata Farms, told radio station 3AW. Strawberry producers had begun ordering metal detectors as a safety precaution, said Strawberry Growers Association of Western Australia president Neil Handasyde.